Safe-lock



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. DISS, OF UTIOA, NEV YORK.

SAFE-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,068, dated November 16, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEGER Diss, of the city of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safe-Locks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my improvement consists in so constructing the lock as to render it impracticable to pick it, and also to render it powder proof; that is to say, to make it impracticable to explode the lock, or destroy it by powder introduced at the key hole.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure l, is a perspective view of the lock case, containing all the parts of the lock in their proper places, as when the bolt is projected, or locked, but without the cover and the key. Fig. 9., is a separate view of the stop holder, with the stops therein. a, are the stops; f, g, the holder or rack; and b, the levers by which the stops are moved. Fig. 3, is a circular guard, surrounding the key in the center of the lock; with the oblong orifice N, through one side of it. This guard stands by the side of the stop holder in such a manner that the ends O, of the levers Z), (Fig. A), enter so as to come in contact with the key through the oblong orifice N (Fig. 3). Fig. 4f, is the key with its circular projections CZ, c, f, and intervening rectangular grooves, corresponding to the projecting ends O, of the stop levers, (Fig. 2).

A, B, O, (Fig. l) is the bolt of the lock, and D, is the tumbler. The tumbler is separately shown in Fig. 5, where the under side is turned upward in order to show the pin P, which moves the bolt, and the hollow cylinder It, which enters within the circular guard (Fig. 3,) and receives and steadies the movement of the key. The cylinder R, (Fig. 5), passes through the entire thickness of the lock, terminating flush with the back plate in the notched ring S, for the hold of the key, corresponding to the like ring S, (Fig. l) in front, so that the key is used equally from both sides in cases where this is required; but in situations where the key is to be used on one side only the orifice may or may not be closed on the back side.

Fig. 6, is the cover of the lock, made to tit over the front face of Fig. l.

The stops a, and levers b, (Fig. 2) are shown in position at a., b, (Fig. l) with the top plate e, added, which here covers and obscures the view of the stop holder. The top plate c, is screwed down solid to the holder or rack and has the pin T projecting about an eighth of an inch from its surface, giving the tumbler D, a hold upon it by the eccentric slot U. The stop holder carrying with it the stops, is thus moved back and forth, governed by ways at the sides which are IiXed to the bottom of the case; and at every semirevolution given to the tumbler, during which the pin T, passes the whole length of the slot U, the stop holder and stops are first drawn bodily toward the center, and then returned to the position shown while in the meantime the bolt A, B, is withdrawn and the door unlocked; or is projected and the door locked as the case may be.

The bolt A, B, has upon it the hasp E; and when it is withdrawn, or unlocked this hasp is let through a gap at i, in front of the stops a, so that its front bar- V, will be within the opening W, and the gap z', is again closed as here shown. The opening of the passage for the entrance of the hasp E, V, is occasioned by the operation of the stop levers O, on the circular projections (Z, e, f, of the key (Fig. A), as these stop levers pass through the oblong orifice N, in the circular guard (Fig. 3), and reach the key through the notch L in the cylinder R (Fig. 5).

The key does not directly move the stops, but as the stops are brought toward the center as described, by the movement of the tumbler on the pin T, (Fig. l), the levers O, (Fig. 2), come in contact with the key, and those which strike the circular proj ections upon it are stopped, while the others enter the intervening grooves. This, while it deranges the uniformity of the position of the levers, O, throws the openings in the front of the stops at z', into a uniform range, making a free passage for the hasp. In like manner on the return movement it is not the key which thrusts back the levers to a uniform position, as seen at C, (Fig. 2,) but this is done by the whole body of levers, together with the holder, being carried back by the tumbler, until the back ends Z2, (Fig. l) of the levers strike the interior surface of the lock case; this brings them to a uniform position again, and at the same time closes the gap at z', again.

The levers move the stops by means of the circular hinge (Z, (Fig. 2), by which a. loose working connection is formed between each lever and its corresponding stop. The stops gyrate on the fulcrum-pin L, (Fig. 2,) placed at one fourth of the distance from d, to z', so that a slight transverse movement of the levers b, occasions a suificient movement of the stops at z', to close or open the passage. The openings through the front of the several stops at z', are so cut that when the levers are even at the ends, as shown in the figure, the stops form a closure in front as shown at z'. These levers are always even at the ends when the bolt is locked, and when it is unlocked, as this occurs only when the pin T, (Fig. l) occupies one or the other extremity of the slot U, and the ends of the levers come in contact with the lock case opposite. At either of these junctures the key can be removed, as none of the levers C, (Fig. 2) then occupy the spaces between the circular projections on the key, to hold it. The slot U, (Fig. l) from K, to K, is concentric; the residue from thence to the end each Way, is eccentric to eifect the necessary direct movement of the stop holder; the stop levers Z2, during the passage of the pin T, through the concentric part of the slot are in contact with the key, part of them resting against the circular projections thereon, and part of them moving within the spaces, and are thus thrown out of uniform range at the ends. A principal feature in the construction of the key is, that these circular projections upon it are varied in every construction, either in their elevation, or in the depth of the intervening spaces, and in each case the openings or cuts in the front of the stops at z', (Fig. l) are made to correspond, so that when the levers are brought in contact with the key some of them striking the circular projections, and others passing into the intervening spaces to the base thereof the openings in the front of the stops are in each case brought into exact range, forming a free passage for the hasp as described, so that the key to any lock can not be used to unlock any lock except the one to which it is tted.

When the levers strike the key, and the gap in the stops is opened thereby, they remain in this position while the pin T, passes through the concentric portion of the slot U, as described, and it is during this period that the pin I), which projects from the under side of the tumbler, by striking an appropriate notch in the interior curve of the bolt A, B, C, either thrusts the bolt out or withdraws it as the case may be; the stops a, by the movement of the stop holder being then brought to such a position that the gap i, is presented directly before the hasp E, V. After the hasp has entered, and also after it is withdrawn the remainder of the movement in either direction closes t-he passage at the point z', again.

The elevation and intervening spaces on the key may be so made as to move all the stops more or less, or only a part of them, to open the passage for the hasp, the cuts in the stops being in each case made to correspond to the arrangement of the key, and the variety which this arrangement is capable of is very great.

Should any attempt be made to pick the lock by operating at the key hole to move the stops without the use of the appropriate key, it is evident that the task of moving one lever a little more and another a little less with the exactness necessary to open the gap for the hasp perfectly, would with the slight facilities afforded even to a person understanding the general characteristics of these locks be a hopeless one; especially as any mistake in moving a lever a little too far involves the necessity of correcting the evil by bringing' back this lever to its proper position, not knowing where this is. This would be impossible as the end of the moved lever is now out of the reach of the operator, and cannot be got hold of. Nothing short of the key itself by which all the requisite movements are carried on in unison, can be made to effect the object.

Locks are sometimes destroyed by introducing powder into their interior through the key hole, and exploding it there. I have provided against this by rendering it impracticable to introduce the powder. This is eected by the use of the circular guard shown in Fig. 3. This prevents any access of the powder to the interior of the lock. The orifice N being completely filled by the levers c, (Fig. 2) there is no passage from the interior of this guard, to the interior of the lock. And as the key hole is open from front to rear when the key is removed, an explosion of the small quantity of powder it is capable of containing would be spent harmlessly, although the outer orifice be ever so securely closed.

In my safe lock patented on the 28th day of April 1857, which is usually denominated the needle lock, I use stops of a different description, which spread out in locking,l

and brace against the bolt in the rear, and in unlocking are brought back to an equal range to enter a slot in the bolt. The movement in the lock here described, has some resemblance to that of the needle lock, al- What I do claim and desire to secure by though they are essentially different. The Letters Patent isagencies employed in the lock herein de- I The combination of the reciprocating stop l scribed are more simple and economical in holders With the levers b, stops a, and the 15 construction, and the action of the lock more compound slotted tumber D; the construceiiicient and useful. The movement of the tion and operation being as described. stopholder is direct instead of oblique as in the former lock, enabling me to accomplish LEGER DISS' objects not effected by the other.

I do not claim the several parts of my lock separately considered, but

lVitnesses WM. BAKER, JOSEPH LOUIS. 

